


The Wild Hunt

by dogtit, milesabovepeter



Series: pandora's box [2]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: F/F, modern au but sort of not, strap yourselves in because its gonna be a wild ride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 12:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7052263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogtit/pseuds/dogtit, https://archiveofourown.org/users/milesabovepeter/pseuds/milesabovepeter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blondie Lockes is still in over her head, what with her new shapeshifting roommate, her embarrassing parents, and her newfound discovery of her super immortal best friend. Then things get worse with a surprise transfer student.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the adventure continues! sort of. konrad and i actually wrote most of the whole thing and just split it up as it started to get a little Too Long so the second chapter should be out p shortly!!

Blondie was still shaken as Cupid all but carried her into the house. Her mind was attempting to process what she had just witnessed and nothing was lining up. Cupid being an otherworldly being made sense because despite how close they were Blondie didn’t have a history with her. She and Ashlynn had been friends since freshman year and had bonded instantly. How had Blondie not noticed?

 

Cupid lead Blondie to her bedroom, rubbing her arms to make sure she was okay. Not too long after, Goldie knocked on the door and declared that Cupid’s room was ready. Cupid gave Blondie a reluctant look but Blondie only smiled.

 

“Go ahead I’m fine,” she lied and when her friend left, Blondie ran on autopilot to get ready for bed. She brushed her hair and her teeth, put on her nightgown, and crawled beneath the sheets. Her mother’s voice was distant, muffled, but she could hear her speaking gently to Cupid.

 

That was good, really, it was. But all Blondie saw when she closed her eyes was Ashlynn bursting into flames, and Cupid turning into shade and pulling the man deep within. _I’m going to eat him,_ Cupid had vowed.

 

Had she?

 

She tossed and turned and tried to fall asleep. She would drift off for thirty minutes only to jolt awake at every little creak and moan. The thing was, Blondie wasn’t sure what she was scared of, really. Cupid could have gobbled her up long before now. They’d shared a bed together, and even before that when Blondie had been wandering in the house with nothing but a flashlight and a phone, Cupid could have wrapped both hands around her throat.

 

She didn’t, she wouldn’t. Blondie’s common sense might not have been the best, as the last 50 or so hours had proven, but she trusted her gut instinct. It was a reporter’s number one tool, after all. And all her gut was telling her about Cupid was that she wasn’t dangerous...to Blondie. Or her friends and family. As for humanity at large that still remained to be seen.

 

The restlessness continued until Blondie’s phone shrieked its alarm, right alongside her mother’s. Blondie swiped it silent and turned her face into the cool pillow, groaning. She felt absolutely awful, inside and out. Her head and eyes ached from a distinct lack of sleep and her stomach felt like it was full of rocks.

 

Blondie, for the first time, didn’t know if she was ready to tackle school. Not just because of everything that had happened last night, but also because she didn’t have her world history paper and she _definitely_ didn’t want to end up attending Mr. Stein’s class and hear him shriek about her getting a 0 for it.

 

Blondie stayed in bed long enough for her mother to creep in, quietly. She heard the woman pad over the carpet and felt her bed dip as Goldie sat on it.

 

“It’s a mental health day, isn’t it?” Goldie’s voice was calm and lacking judgement. Blondie teared up almost immediately and let out a soft whimper, nodding her head because she didn’t trust herself to talk. “Okay, baby. You earned it.”

 

Blondie felt her mother kiss the crown of her head. “Dad and I are going to get Cupid set up at school and get her a few supplies. Do you want me to keep her out of the house?”

 

Blondie thought about it, and felt her stomach turn even worse. She could just imagine how Cupid would feel; on some level, Blondie knew that Cupid was scared she’d ruined the strange foundation of their friendship. Despite her promise, Cupid might just decide to leave anyway, and crawl back into hiding. Maybe she’d hide so well that no one would ever stumble across her secrets ever again, and she’d be all alone all over again.

 

“No,” Blondie said in a whisper. “If she wants to come back home then I...I think I could use the company.”

 

Goldie gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Alright. We’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes. You just catch up on some sleep, okay?”

 

“Mmhm,” Blondie mumbled. Her mom left without closing the door and Blondie turned her head. Cupid hovered just outside. When their eyes met, she looked down at her shoes awkwardly. Blondie made a noise and sat up in her bed. When Cupid looked up again, Blondie held out her arms.

 

Cupid approached slowly; she was clearly unsurprised for the hug Blondie drew her in because she was very tense, holding her breath.

 

“When you come home,” Blondie whispered, “we _really_ need to talk, okay? I need you to be honest about what happened last night.”

 

Cupid blew out a breath. “Are you going to ask me to leave, after all?”

 

“Nope.” Even if Cupid responded _yeah, I ate that guy and enjoyed it_ , Blondie wasn’t about to turn her out. Or, well, turn her loose. “I just need to...I need to know, or it’ll haunt me.”

 

“Okay,” Cupid said, and breathed out. “Okay.”

 

Then Cupid hugged her back, and Blondie gave her a comforting squeeze. Soon her mother called for Cupid to come down, and Blondie was all alone in the house. The first thing she did was to brush her teeth, take a Tylenol, and flop back into her bed. She crashed for a solid three and a half hours, which was enough to take away the headache and leave her suitably prepared to handle the rest of the day at that.

 

Blondie handled it quite lazily. She didn’t change out of her pajamas, went down into the living room, and turned Netflix. For lunch she had leftover ham and mashed potatoes, and loaded up the recording of her encounter with Cupid to her computer to free up space in her phone. She had a message from Holly, asking if she’d changed her mind about the article--Blondie replied that she had, and she apologized for any trouble--and put her computer away. Netflix was a handy distraction. She got through half a season of an old sitcom before she heard the garage door opening, and someone came into the house.

 

Blondie paused her show and stood up. Cupid came through the kitchen and into the living room, carrying a wealth of plastic bags.

 

“Your mother said she was going to work.” Cupid breathed in, nervous. “I, um. I’m in your arithmetic class.”

 

Blondie paused. “Calculus. It’s calculus, Cupid.”

 

“Right.”

She’d changed out of her borrowed look, Blondie noticed. In a pink and white sundress that reached below her knees, and a cream colored crop jacket with a faded heart print, she was…

 

Still really, really cute. And way out of her league, at least in terms of physical appearance; Blondie was all the more aware of her soft blue nightgown and how faded it was from years of washing, and felt a little embarrassed. She sat down and pulled the couch’s throw over her lap, then patted the cushions.

 

“Sit,”  Blondie encouraged. “Please?”

 

Cupid set down her bags and carefully sat.

 

“Oh, come on,” she said after a moment of tense silence. “I’m not going to bolt away. What did you do with him?”

 

Cupid closed her eyes, and swallowed. “He’s in a...very unpleasant place.”

 

“ _Where_ , Cupid?”

 

“Tartarus.” Cupid played with her fingers as Blondie stared. “I would have taken him _home_ home if I knew how to get back, but dropping him off at my uncle’s is all I could do.”

 

“You--he’s in _Greek hell?_ ” Blondie’s hands went to her hair. “Cupid! Oh my god, you can’t just throw someone in--in hell!”

 

“You didn’t hear what he wanted to do to you,” Cupid snarled, rage breaking through the facade of her humanity in the briefest, most terrifying flashes Blondie had seen. It was only a split second’s worth; a slight waver of light, and Cupid’s mouth was full of teeth, and then it was back to normal. “I was just going to scare him a little. But humans have no filter in their thoughts--I heard them, when we were in the dark, and I heard what he was going to do to you, and Ashlynn, and…”

 

Cupid shook her head, pink curls swirling. “He deserved far worse,” she said at last, “but judgement of sin isn’t in my jurisdiction.”

 

“And--and kidnapping a guy and throwing him in, in hell _is_?”

 

“No! I wasn’t even--I’m not allowed there anymore either!” Cupid gnawed at her knuckles, eyes shut. “I’m _sorry_ that I scared you, Blondie, I am. But I’m not sorry I threw him to my uncle. I’ll never be sorry for that.”

 

There was a heavy moment of silence that carried between them. Blondie swallowed the lump in her throat and Cupid breathed hard, her fingers curling against the sofa. They both trembled, balanced on some form of edge; one wrong move and they were both going to fall, one way or another. Blondie swallowed again.

 

“If Ashlynn hadn’t…” Blondie trailed off. “If we’d all been...human, completely, then what would…”

 

Cupid’s face contorted in pain and disgust. She looked away, unable to speak; it was all Blondie needed. It hadn’t been a senseless slaughter, or an overreaction. Cupid had been ready to let him live. Blondie reached out, very slowly, and drew Cupid into another hug.

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “And thank you. Thank you, Cupid.”

 

Was his blood on her hands? Blondie didn’t know how she felt about it, or how she should feel. He must have had family, somewhere. Those types always did. Then she thought about how Ashlynn’s mother would have been, never seeing her daughter again; how her _own_ parents would have reacted. Had Ashlynn been human, had _Cupid_ been human, they all would have…

 

“I won’t say that--you did the right thing. I don’t think I can,” Blondie managed to say, her voice hoarse. “But thank you. For saving us.”

 

Cupid sighed against her. It was enough, and it wasn’t, but the tension in Blondie’s stomach bled out as she sat back, holding Cupid’s shoulders with a small, but genuine grin. Cupid returned it, and they both began to laugh in small, short--semi hysteric--bursts. They hugged again, tighter this time, and Blondie might have cried just a little onto Cupid’s new jacket, but it was cathartic and it helped.

 

“New rule,” Blondie sniffled, pulling back from the embrace. “You don’t have to tell me _what_ they are, but you have to inform me if someone is _something_ that’s not one hundred percent human. Just so I can be prepared, okay?”

 

“Alright,” Cupid said, nodding. “Okay. I will.”

 

“Good!” Blondie held up her phone. “Let’s call Ashlynn and check on her. Wait, is she at school, or--”

 

“I’d be surprised if she was,” Cupid said. “It takes a day or two for a phoenix to recover from a resurrection. She’s probably got the sniffles.” She booped Blondie on the nose. “Like someone else I know.”

 

“These are tear sniffles!” Blondie pulled up her contacts and called Ashlynn, putting the phone on speaker. After four rings the girl in question picked up, her voice scratchy and congested, like she had a seriously bad cold.

 

“Hey,” Ashlynn croaked. “You waited to call a lot longer than I thought you would. When’s my interview? Are you gonna make me a cover girl for your blog, or is Cupid going to be the new face of Spectral.”

 

“You’re on speaker,” Cupid said dryly, which made Ashlynn squeak. “Take care of what you say, _phenix._ “

 

Ashlynn replied to that in throaty Greek, which threw Blondie for yet another loop. That Cupid easily responded in kind wasn’t as surprising, but Ashlynn giggling after was. Blondie looked between her phone and Cupid, not sure why she felt weirdly jealous.

 

“I’m fine, Blondie,” Ashlynn told her friend through the device before breaking in a coughing fit. “Honest. Charlie probably told you that.”

 

“Charlie?” Blondie looked to Cupid who’s hair fluffed up at the sound of the nickname. Cupid said something else in Greek, this time with a snarl, but Ashylnn’s giggles turned coughs told Blondie it probably wasn’t that serious.

 

“Were you able to send that paper to school?” Ashlynn asked and the groan that escaped Blondie’s lips told her everything she needed to know.  “After I stopped shaking, I sent Briar a text. She told me she’d take care of it. I figured you would need a day off after last night.”

 

Blondie sagged with relief. “I owe her so much coffee.”

 

“Start paying her back tomorrow. I’ll probably still be out of school.” There was a moment of silence, and Ashlynn asked, “Can you take  me off speaker? I need to talk to you, just. Girl to girl.”

 

Cupid gave her a wink and picked up her bags, moving for the stairs to her room. Blondie mouthed her thanks and took Ashlynn off of speakerphone, raising it to her ear. “You’re good now, Ash.”

 

“Are _we_ good?”

 

Blondie blinked rapidly. “I...yes?”

 

“I just…” Ashlynn was probably biting her lip. “Usually Mom would make us move after a resurrection, but only you and Cupid saw it, so she’s willing to stay. She really trusts you, Blondie. So do I.”

 

“T-thanks,” Blondie said slowly. “But what does this have to do with us being cool? Yeah, you’re...possessed, or something, I don’t really understand that but--but, that doesn’t change us being friends. D-does it?”

 

“No! God, no. I adore you, Blondie.” Ashlynn’s stuffy nose proceeded to worsen, her voice coming out in clogged hiccups. “I was just so worried you’d...treat me differently, now that you know what's inside of me. But, but I’m still _me_.”

 

“You’re still you,” Blondie agreed, feeling her eyes tear up in sympathy.  “You’re still my BFF. I promise, Ash, this doesn’t change _anything_. But... I guess now we know the truth about gingers, though.”

 

“....What?”

 

“You guys have a _fire-y_ personality!”

 

Ashlynn hung up after her pun. Her departure was followed by a text message full of heart emojis, letting Blondie know that it had been a massive success. She laughed herself silly and set her phone aside, stretching out her legs as she scrubbed at her face.

 

She still didn’t know how she felt about Cupid’s methods of protection, and she was _aching_ with curiosity about Ashlynn--how did one become _possessed_ by a phoenix in the first place? Was her mother the same way? How did they know Cupid? And _Charlie?_ What was up with that familiarity?--but Blondie felt better. She sent her mother a text to let her know the good news, and five minutes later her mother sent her a smile and an _I love you sweetie_.

 

With a sigh that turned into a yawn, Blondie stretched out on the couch and smiled. Blondie had fallen asleep, she realized, when Cupid gently shook her awake hours later.

 

“Your mom said dinner’s ready.” Cupid told her. Rubbing sleep out of her eye and regaining her bearings in the waking world, Blondie looked her friend up and down. Gone was the first dress and jacket, now replaced with a comfy looking baby doll dress in black and pink lace. “Do you see something you like?”

 

Blondie flushed as Cupid winked at her. Mouth agape, Blondie reached around and threw a couch pillow at Cupid. Cupid caught it almost expertly and laughed before exiting. Rolling her eyes, Blondie got up and headed into the dining room. She kissed her parents’ foreheads in greeting before taking the seat across Cupid.

 

“Did everything check out okay with the school?” Blondie asked curiously. Her father was the one to answer her.

 

“Yup! A big saving grace was Cupid here having all the necessary documents. Starting tomorrow she’s a student at AfterEver High. Also here’s a little scoop for you, Blondie!”

 

Blondie immediately perked up, her attention now fully on her father now. He grinned widely, always amused at her excitement over gossip even if it wasn’t supernatural related.

 

“Cupid isn’t the only incoming student! Looks like the school’s going to get an exchange student all the way from Ireland. She should be flying in tomorrow!”

 

Blondie’s eyes seemed to sparkle! Wasn’t Briar from Ireland? Now she had even more reason to text her later and get her thoughts on this new mystery student.  

 

“And how was shopping with my mom, Cupid?” Blondie asked as she went to fork some food in her mouth.

 

“You’re mom is like some sort of fashion goddess.” Blondie choked on her food as she glared at Cupid who was smiling at her mother. “Honestly, I’ve never seen someone get such high quality clothes for so little; it was practically divine.”

 

“Oh it was nothing so grand, honest. We Lockes just know how to haggle just right is all.” Goldie said with a wave of her hand and a giggle.

 

They finished dinner quickly, trading little jokes all the while. Once the last plate was cleared, Barry declared that it was his turn for dishes, and Goldie volunteered to dry them.

 

“I’ve got to get some studying done, anyway,” Blondie said. “Do you want to look over my notes, Cupid?”

 

“Sure!”

 

“Keep your door open, young lady,” Goldie called out as they made for the stairs. Blondie felt her neck heat and she sputtered at her mother. Cupid had the gall to quietly snicker behind a hand, eyes twinkling with mischief.

 

It got even worse as Barry looked up from the sink, blinking. “Why are you worried? They’re both girls, honey.”

 

Goldie simply gave him a look. Cupid’s snickers turned into stifled giggles and Blondie felt herself break into a sweat. Realization flared in her father’s eyes as his bushy brows shot up, and he gave Blondie a serious stare.

 

“Door open,” he grunted.

 

“Oh, my,” Cupid said around her laughter.

 

“You two are so--ugh! Ugh!” Blondie shoved Cupid up the stairs. “We’re just friends!”

 

“That’s how it usually starts,” Goldie called after them. Blondie ignored her and Cupid simply continued to laugh at her expense. Once comfortable in her room, door halfway open out of spite, Blondie turned on reporter mode. Cupid’s smile tightened ever so slightly at what was beginning to become a familiar look.

 

“What do you want to know?” Cupid asked her.

 

“You’ll tell me anything I want to know?”

 

“Cross my seventh heart and stick a needle in my tenth eye.” Cupid grinned at Blondie’s confused look.

 

“How long have you known Ashlynn? And how did she and her mom get possessed by a phoenix? How is that even _possible?_ ” Blondie opened up the notepad app on her computer and started to organize the questions and future answers together, bit by bit.

 

Cupid’s smile grew wry. “You know, I was kind of hoping you’d ask just about me.”

 

Blondie’s eyes flashed. “Are you jealous?”

 

A low hum was sent her way in reply, edging on coy. “A little, but can you blame a girl?” Cupid giggled again. “I came upon Ashlynn and her mother before Germania came back under Roman control, thanks to Germanicus. Our mythos and pantheon were growing, and converging at once; father warned me not to pick favorites or show my favor so soon, but something about her caught me.”

 

Cupid’s voice was soft with nostalgia, and her eyes looked far away. Blondie found herself leaning in, enraptured by the story. Cupid’s form began to change, her cheekbones moving higher and her jawline going sharp; her hair lengthened, wild pink curls bouncing with each little movement of her head. It was simple, so fluid and unconsciously done that Blondie had to blink rapid fire to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things.

 

“Caught you?” Blondie echoed, and felt herself prickle.

 

“She had no father, no home, and only her mother to cling to and guide her,” Cupid murmured, eyes going dark. Even her voice began to change, growing deeper and accented. Her skin deepened in color until it was almost black, making the brightness of her eyes all the more apparent. “So I guided the both of them as best I could, until they came upon a temple and a hidden enclave to my father. They were accepted, and began to worship. I believe Augustus was still in power then, or just about to fall--about ten BC. Ashlynn was fourteen.”

 

Blondie’s breath blew out of her with a little _puh_. “That would make her t...t-”

 

“Two thousand and two and a half years old, yes.” Cupid smiled enchantingly. “And just think, I’ve been around even longer.”

 

Blondie stared. She couldn’t help it. “Wow,” is all she could muster. “Oh, wow.”

 

“I look good for my age, don’t I?” Cupid posed on her bed, her limbs longer. It hit Blondie that _this_  could have been the form Cupid had chosen so long ago, which explained why Ashlynn hadn’t recognized her from the get go.

 

“How...How did the phoenix bit come about?” Blondie weakly typed _they’re over ~~9000 wow no Blondie no memes this is serious~~ 2000_ under the first question as its answer as she asked the second bit.

 

“I’ll be honest, I don’t really know that much.” Cupid mulled it over. “Ashylnn was only in my service for three years; I left to stay with my mother for a few centuries, at the behest of my father. I have a few theories, but you’d really have to ask her about it. The _phenix_ were a rare breed, even back then. Ashylnn or her mother must have courted the favor of one through a great sacrifice, and so it blessed the family line with longevity. I thought she’d died long ago, to be honest.”

 

“Why the hostility last night?” Blondie set her computer aside, staring blatantly at Cupid now. “The two of you looked like you _hated_ each other.”

 

“I’m immortal,” Cupid said with a giggle, “but I don’t have the most _perfect_ memory, Blondie. It helped that we both knew each other under different names--Ashlynn was not even her quaint _Aschenputtel_ then, and I was not ‘Cupid’ either. The names are long dead, if you’re about to ask, and it would sound like death to you if I spoke them. It was because we both sensed something amiss about the other, but could not determine what it was.”

 

A thought niggled at her, and Blondie pursued it. “You spoke about staying with your mother; the same one who went all Call of Cthulu on my phone?”

 

Cupid laughed outright, and her form changed into the familiar, younger version of herself. “That’s the nature of talking to dead things,” she said with a grin. “Mortal ears are incapable of hearing them. Why do you think ghosts communicate through the _oujia_ , or through electricity? Rule of thumb; if you contact the dead, and it speaks, it's not actually dead. It's a demon.”

 

Blondie typed down the note for her own merit, then pursued the next question that rose to her mind. “Your mother is _dead?_ ”

 

“Yes, and no. In her mythos, Enekpe dies in sacrifice to save her people. But can something like a goddess really die, if you believe in it?” Cupid smiled, and it held all the secrets of the world. “Don’t you know, Blondie? Why gods and monsters alike adore humans so? It’s because you _believe_ so strongly. Believing that something is real is half the creation of faith.”

 

Blondie’s head was spinning, and Cupid must have sensed that she was beginning to near the limit, because she patted her knee with a sigh.

 

“How about you shower, hm? We have a big day at school tomorrow, after all.” Cupid rose and headed to the doorway before stopping and looking back, “Unless you need assist-”

  
A white teddy came rocketing out of the room at Mach 5.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you know whats worse than terrible break ups with your ex? terrible break ups with your immortal ex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> using a fairy's secret/true name gives you absolute power over them, according to most myths. aka, briar is a real jerk, and faybelle is like, 12.

Blondie woke up the next morning feeling more rested than she had in months. She changed out of her pjs after taking a few minutes to arrange a perfect return to school outfit.  A chiffon sleeveless dress with a canary yellow skirt and a cute collar, a ponte jacket for that suitably snappy flair, black flats. She accessorized with a headband and a gold chain from which a teddy bear charm hung.

 

She made her way down to breakfast where she tugged Cupid towards the door--”Blondie, did you know they sell _Greek Yogurt?_ ”---before grabbing a piece of toast and sticking it into her mouth before her dad left them behind.

 

Normally, Blondie welcomed attention. Today, however, she was trying really hard not blush as she entered through the front of the school. But it was kind of hard to do with Cupid all but snuggling against her. It didn’t help that the new girl on her arm was back in that cute dress and cream jacket from the day before.

 

With half an hour before school officially started, Blondie showed Cupid where she and her friends liked to have lunch, and after glancing at her schedule showed where they would be at different times during the day.

 

“That way we can try and coordinate!” Blondie said brightly. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

 

“I may not be totally up to date with most modern slang, but I’m a fast learner.” Cupid smirked. “This little bird has to fly, Blondie. You can’t keep me all to yourself, you know.”

 

“With you always hanging off of my arm, I was starting to think it was the other way around,” Blondie teased. She considered it a huge victory as Cupid seemed to fluster at that, letting go of said arm and keeping a somewhat respectable--though still suspect--distance between them.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Briar. She hadn’t gotten to text the girl last night, so it was a lucky break that Blondie had caught her early on. She turned and tugged on the sleeve of Cupid’s jacket, pointing her friend out.

 

“That’s Briar! She’s one of the most popular girls in school! Has her hand in almost everything and throws some _amazing_ parties, since her parents are like, never home. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Blondie raised her voice, waving a hand. “Briar! Over here!”

 

Briar Beauty was a tall girl--the second tallest girl Blondie knew, second to Duchess Swan--and suited her surname to the Y. Dressed for comfort in a baggy ombre sweater, and pale rose pink jeans, Briar often looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. _I woke up like this_ , indeed; with sunkissed, olive skin and hair that flickered red like fire when hit just right by its rays, was there any real wonder why Briar was the name on everyone’s lips? There was an allure to her that her casual-comfort style tried to dismiss, a magnetic pull that made you want to reach out and _touch_.

 

Blondie considered herself mostly immune by now--though she had been hopelessly enamored in sophomore year--but sometimes Briar reminded her in little ways that Blondie was very, _very_ gay.

 

At Blondie’s call, Briar looked up from talking with Raven Queen--how they were close, Blondie didn’t really know--and waved before making to join the duo. Raven caught her arm and dark painted lips move fast. Blondie watched as Briar blinked in that slow, sleepy way and casually brushed her hand over Raven’s. Whatever she said seemed to ease the other girl only _slightly_ , though the dark glare Raven sent her way as Briar strode forward was enough to give her the shivers. As Briar approached, Blondie felt Cupid’s grip tighten slightly.

 

“Hm,” Cupid said, “well, isn’t _that_ odd?”

 

Blondie felt her heart sink.

 

“Oh gosh, oh no. Don’t tell me. _Briar too?_ ” Blondie whispered. Cupid’s eyes were alight as she nodded slowly.

 

“She’s different but I can’t pin down exactly _how_ ?” Cupid tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Something is _oddly_ familiar about the aura around her, but also off? There’s her own but also something else? Something not of this world.”

 

 _If she’s an alien_ , Blondie thought to herself, _I’m going to eat my shoe._

 

Briar finished closing the space before her as Blondie smiled tightly.

 

“Hey,” she greeted, her voice just a touch strained. “I just wanted to say thank you so much for saving my butt in History. I owe you one.”

 

Briar gave a kind smile and shook her head. When her hair tossed, Blondie caught the hint of shampoo, or a new perfume; it made her oddly weak in the knees. “Don’t worry about it, Blondie. What are friends for?” Briar turned her disarming smile on Cupid. “Speaking of friends, who’s this?”

 

Cupid let go of Blondie’s arm and held out a hand which Briar took. As they shook there was no angry tension or sudden recognition, which Blondie didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Call me Cupid! And you are?”

 

Briar raised a suspicious eyebrow and really looked at the girl in front of her. “Cupid, huh? That’s unique. I’m--”

 

The air crackled. Voices of the students gathering in the courtyard grew hushed in a great series of gasps. Briar went very still, and then very, very pale.

 

“Aurora O’Briar, my love, is that _you?_ ” A girl’s sharp voice cut through the air, her r’s rolled with an brogue that rattled around in Blondie’s head, ensnaring her voice and making her knees shake. “It’s been _ages!_ ”

 

“Nononononono. This can NOT be happening!” Briar’s normally relaxed, almost sleepy, composure shattered at the sound of the voice. She spun on her heels and grasped at her throat like something was choking her, or about to. Blondie watched as Cupid’s eyes, which had been sparkling with curiosity, go dark like blown out candle.

 

“ _Her?_ Oh, you poor flower you.” She said pulling a shell shocked Briar into half a hug, her tone full of pity. Her other arm reached out to subtly pull Blondie behind her, though Blondie could still see the ‘danger’ that approached them over her shoulder.

 

And. _Good God._

 

Moving for the trio was a dark skinned girl with snow white hair that was streaked with a highlight of teal to match her nigh iridescent eyes. Her cheekbones were sharp and her features aristocratic, pointed chin tilted at a haughty angle. The rising sun painted her in hues of gold and blushing pink, which seemed at odds with the unnerving chill that settled deep in the pools of her eyes.

 

She glittered. It was the only way Blondie could describe the golden, rich tones of her bared skin; by the cruel smirk the girl had on pink, glossy lips, she knew _precisely_ the effect she held. Blondie stared, utterly dumbfounded, until her foggy brain realized that the allure, the pull, was the very same one she felt from Briar only magnified. If Briar Beauty was the suggestion of touch, the girl on the war path to them was a _demand_ , a decree from royalty.

 

“Hiding in plain sight,” the girl sighed, and though the rich Irish brogue that colored her voice vanished, the effect it had on Blondie did not. “Aren’t we _clever?_ ”

 

Briar did the oddest thing, then. Briar _ran_. Tore herself from Cupid’s half hug and bolted for the gates, pink sneakers pounding against the grass. Blondie watched the girl watch Briar, and felt her blood chill at the wicked grin.

 

More so when the girl _vanished_. Just like that, Blondie felt her brain return from nowhere land with a harsh splash of water. She trembled, burdened by a sorrow she couldn’t place, and gripped Cupid’s shoulder as she panted. The crowd of students seemed to share it, mostly. No one pointed at the grass and shouted about a _vanishing student_ ; only gripped at their chests, rubbed at their eyes.

 

Blondie could see Raven sagging onto a bench, shaking like a leaf; Poppy steadied her swooning sister, the only one around that seemed to be as unaffected as Cupid was. As..more than a few were, Blondie noticed. A couple of students--Ramona Badwolf and Rosabella Beauty--were similarly calm. Ramona kept sneezing, and Rosabella continued to rub at her eyes, but they didn’t seem as...punch drunk, if that was even a term that could be used to describe the encounter.

 

“We have to go after her,” Cupid said, her voice hard.

 

“Huh…? Who?” Blondie felt fuzzy around her edges. “B-Briar?”

 

“Yes. She’s in trouble.” Cupid took her hand and began to drag her into the direction Briar had fled. “One doesn’t _escape_ an Unseelie Fae, much less their _princess_.“

 

“What.” Blondie stumbled over her feet and then got her bearings back as they sprinted down the streets. “Whoa, what?! That girl was a--a _fairy?!_ ”

 

“Fae,” Cupid corrected sharply. They turned down a corner, and Blondie realized they were skipping school to run into the city park to save her friend, who had connections to a _fairy_.  “If she were just a Seelie I wouldn’t be so frightened, but this is _not good_. Who knows what else she brought along with her?”

 

Blondie yelped as they plowed through bushes, thorns digging scrapes and scratches down her legs. “Oh my _god, ow_ \--what! What are _we_ gonna do?!”

 

“I’ll stop her with force, if necessary,” Cupid said through grit teeth.

 

Briar choose the spot well; deep enough into the park that their voices would carry if they screamed, but that they would still be hidden. Briar whirled on them as they exploded from the foliage, the mysterious girl standing just feet away. Knowing what she was seemed to prepare Blondie enough that she wasn’t so caught up in staring--which, wow, she’d never live _that_ down--but something about the girl still set Blondie’s every instinct on edge.

 

“What an interesting cavalry you’ve called upon, Aurora,” the girl purred, looking over Cupid and Blondie mockingly. Her silver jewelry caught light and sparkled; a bangle fashioned like a thorny branch circled one elegant wrist. “An old freak godling and...aw. A _human_ ,“ she said in a coo. “You’re not gawping at me; am I to assume you’re not so caught in my glamour, little girl?”

 

“Honestly,” Blondie said, clinging to the back of Cupid’s jacket, “I’m not a hundred percent sure what’s going on here, but, back off! I’ve got mace!”

 

She didn’t have mace. Blondie never carried mace. A _smart_ person would carry mace.

 

“Cute,” the Fae drawled. “Is she a friend of yours, Aurora?”

 

“Briar. It’s _Briar_ , now.” Blondie watched her friend shake, tensing up. She’d never seen Briar angry. Irritated, sure. But _never_ angry. “What the _hell_ are you doing here?”

 

“ _Briar_ ,” the girl said, testing out the name and then seemingly shrugging it off. “You’ve gotten less creative over the years. But fine, _Briar_. You may refer to this form of mine as Faybelle. Isn’t it elegant? Human enough for you?” Faybelle blinked her lashes mockingly. “You so did love your human things.”

 

“It’s not very subtle,” Blondie said, stupidly. Faybelle slanted her eyes in her direction and Blondie felt her stomach roil with fear. “I mean. If you’re trying not to sound like a fairy, you’re not...really helping your case?”

 

“Keep your pet muzzled, godling,” Faybelle spat at Cupid. “She’s becoming _annoying._ ”

 

“Touch a hair on her head and prepare to regret breaching the human realm,” Cupid warned softly; the same tone of voice she’d used the night when Ashlynn had gone up in flames. Blondie shuddered and wasn’t ashamed to admit that she cowered a tad, not sure who she could hide behind or who she should hide _from_.

 

“Relax. It’s not even a human I’m after.” Faybelle looked to Briar, now, her smile chilling and dark. “Oh, sweet Briar. How long did you think you could outrun us? Not that we were actually giving _chase_ to you, mind. If we’d wanted you, nothing short of the Seelie Court and her mistress could have saved you from the Wild Hunt.” She gasped, as if remembering something. “Oh! But with my blood inside of you, why, they would have you killed on sight, wouldn’t they?”

 

Briar ground her teeth. Blondie decided that Cupid was the one who was the least angry and decided to press against her back, staring at Briar like it was the first time she’d ever seen her. What did that make Briar, in the end? A fairy too? A _half_ fairy? She’d just gotten used to the idea of Ashlynn being possessed by a phoenix and also really, _really_ old. She was not nearly ready enough for this.

 

“Why are you here, then, Faybelle?” Briar spat the name like a curse, her voice roughening with emotion. “If you’re not here for me, then why are you even _here?_ ”

 

Blondie didn’t know if Briar saw it, or if Cupid saw it, but something _flickered_ in Faybelle’s eyes. Something like hurt, or regret. She hesitated, like she was battling with herself, before replying caustically, “Just to see how the years have treated you. And to let you know that I _never_ looked for you.”

 

Did Briar just _flinch?_

 

“I’ll admit that I was tempted to come after you during that vile plague that started,” Faybelle continued, looking at her nails. “It was so very _inconvenient_ to be bedridden because you went and got yourself sick with such a ridiculously fatal human disease. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead in the ground. Or burned to ash with the rest of those filthy corpses.”

 

“Plague?” Blondie gasped. “Like, no way, like the _Black Plague?_ ” Okay, so, yeah. Briar was old. Really old. At least seven hundred or so years--maybe _more?_ Imagine.

 

Briar shot Blondie a look, one that begged for her silence and promised an explanation. Well, she hoped.

 

“I _wish_ I could have been taken by that,” Briar said hoarsely, her voice starting to lilt with an accent Blondie didn’t recognize. It was almost Irish, but not quite; older. Ancient, even. “But thanks to _you_ , I had to sit back and suffer and watch _everyone around me die_.”

 

“Boo,” Faybelle said without sympathy. “How boring. And yet, you clearly haven’t learned.” She waved to Blondie. “What will you do when this one dies, then? Weep over her grave, or move on? I’m excited to see how you process this for the rest of eternity, O’Briar.”

 

Cupid growled, just as Briar _snapped._

 

“ _Flòraidh_ ,” Briar grated, “you won’t harm _any_ of my friends, _ever_.”

 

Blondie watched Faybelle grow very still, eyes wide. With shock; fear. Then, oh yes, _there_ was the hurt that had flickered so quickly before. She trembled where she stood, teeth bared in an outraged snarl.

 

“ _How dare you,_ ” she raged, her hands forming into fists. She took a single step forward, and her human guise fell into pieces around her. Blondie stared; in a dress of flowing, ebony silk stood an outrageous creature, with skin the cold blue pallor of death and gossamer wings flaring from her back. Sharp fangs curled over black lips, and her eyes glowed with power and absolute fury.

 

 _That’s not Tinkerbell_ , Blondie thought. _That’s not Tink at all_.

 

“ _Flòraidh_ ,” Briar said again, rapid fire, “you will stop and stand where you are!”

 

To her shock, Faybelle _did_. She seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move; her wings blurred and buzzed like a hornet’s, rage twisting her unnaturally beautiful face into something horrific.

 

“I gave you that name in _confidence_ ,” Faybelle said, her voice cracking like a whip. “I _gave_ that to you! And you use it against me?! In front of others, no less!? When I get my _hands_ on you, Aurora O’Briar, I will rend you limb from limb!”

 

“ _Flòraidh_ ,” Briar said again, and her smile was as cold and bitter as Afterever Hills’ winters. “You will never, _ever_ , touch me without _my permission_.”

 

A wail of fury escaped Faybelle’s throat. “I am not your _slave!_ ”

 

“And I was not _yours!_ ”

 

“Oh, you made _that_ clear enough when you left the realms!” Faybelle spat.

 

Briar glared at her before taking a deep breath and exhaling. “No more games, no more tricks. What are you _really_  doing here if not to take me?”

 

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out.” Childishly, Faybelle stuck out her tongue.

 

“ _Flòraidh,_ ” Briar began in warning.

 

“Bitch,” Faybelle hissed in reply. “I came to _mock_ you, you stupid little insect. To show you that _I_ don’t care that you left. That you stole my immortality and ran away, leaving our pact half finished and that I _didn’t care_ because who’d _ever_ care about someone like you? Selfish, spoiled little human!”

 

“It sounds like you did care,” Cupid said. “Quite a bit. You’d do well not to hide your true feelings around a ‘godling’, Unseelie princess, not when my father is Eros himself. Speaking of your court, where is it?” Cupid looked around the forest. “A fae never travels alone.”

 

There was a great void of silence. Faybelle had gone very, very still; she pointedly avoided eye contact with Briar or Blondie, nostrils flaring.

 

“Could it be,” Cupid began, slowly, “you _left_ the Court?”

 

“Keep your assumptions to yourself,” Faybelle snapped in reply. “Well, Aur-- _Briar_. Will you leave me to stand upon this ground? Undo your command. I’m now _incapable_ of hurting you, if _that’s_ what you were so afraid of.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Faybelle stumbled forward, wings whipping to keep her from falling. In a blink her vicious appearance had returned to the glamour of a human girl; Blondie still felt dizzy just from looking at her, but that overwhelming first response was gone. Now she was dizzy from all the drama. She appreciated a little drama in her life, but not one day after another. _Gimmie a break from the crazy, world._

  


“ _Thank_ you,” Faybelle said without any note of gratitude in her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest and seemed far less intimidating than she had before. “I’m still furious with you. It’s one thing to start something so intimate and leave a girl unfinished--”

 

Blondie snorted, and then ducked just in case the fae decided to try and loophole her way into killing her.

 

“--but shouting my name around? Unforgivable. It was a betrayal of what little trust I had left in you.”

 

Briar shrieked, “ _You_ want to talk about _betrayal?!_ ”

 

Faybelle drew herself up. “I would, in fact!”

 

They then began to shout at each other, gesturing viciously at the other. It was in a language Blondie didn’t recognize, but it was one that wasn’t dead since she could, well, _hear_ it. It wasn’t like the eldritch tongue that Cupid had spoken in before; a rough, throaty language. Blondie tried to place it, but couldn’t.

 

“It’s Gaelic,” Cupid supplied. Blondie noticed that she was not as high strung as she was before, now that Briar had quite simply neutralized the threat.

 

“Oh.” Blondie stared. The shouting was getting more heated. Briar was starting to cry. “Oh, oh no, oh my god, what is she saying? Are they saying? They’re fighting like they’re exes or some-- _oh my god Briar dated a fairy._ ”

 

“That would be too simple,” Cupid said. “They are engaged.”

 

“ _Huh?_ ”

 

“The Seelie have a much less...vicious way of ensuring shared immortality,” Cupid supplied. “But for the Unseelie, the contract is exchanged first by sharing blood, and then by sharing sacred vows with the secret name. Pretty much commanding the other into loyalty for all eternity.”

 

“That’s _terrifying_.” Blondie gaped at Faybelle in open horror. “And she wanted to force Briar into that?!”

 

“Yes--no? Oh, this is getting juicy,” Cupid said, clasping her hands. “Their stories aren’t matching up. Faybelle says that she would have waited an aeon and a half for Briar’s _friendship_ , much less her hand. That it was Briar who told her mother, the queen, that she was ready to exchange blood and had in fact taken some of Faybelle’s. Briar’s version is that the queen approached her with a goblet of wine to toast to her health, and to fully welcome her into the Court as a quick witted human worthy of attendance.”

 

Blondie had a feeling she knew where this was heading. “It’s a soap opera.”

 

“An immortal soap opera,” Cupid agreed, looking positively thrilled at the aspect. “So star crossed, these two!”

 

“Immortal.” Blondie felt like she could hardly believe it. “Do you think they’ll ever make up?”

 

Cupid looked at her with a smile so bright it should have constellations named after it (heck it probably did).

 

“The path to love is never straight.”

 

“Oh!” Faybelle shouted, throwing both hands in the air. “Oh, so _I’m_ the badguy?!” Blondie tuned in more now that English, however accented, was being spoken again. “Why would my mother _lie_ to me?! She has only ever looked out for me! You’re the one who wanted to live forever and then left!”

 

“ _I want to die_ , Faybelle!”

 

“Welcome to the twenty first century, little O’Briar! Do you think you’re the only teenager that wants to die?!”

 

“She has a point,” Blondie murmured. “A frighteningly accurate point.”

 

“Humans aren’t meant to live forever,” Briar continued on, voice raspy from all the yelling. “Why would I ever willingly _choose_ this!? I watched my mother die, my husband--”

 

“ _Husband?!_ ” Magic swirled around Faybelle in a storm of blue fire, and then the Unseelie fae was back; all her fangs and wings and curling little claws from the tips of her fingers. “You took on a _husband?!_ I’ll _kill_ him!”

 

“He’s long dead, idiot.” Briar smiled, cruelly. “Was that a bit of jealousy, _Flòraidh?_ ”

 

“No! Of course not! Never, never over you!”

 

“Hey! Hi, hello!” Blondie waved her hands. “Time out, time out, please!”

 

Briar and Faybelle both turned their heads to Blondie, leveling vicious and angry stares at her. Blondie shrunk a little under the combined weight of their malice, but drew herself back up.

 

“Look, you guys have a...history,” Blondie began slowly, trying not to flame the inferno any higher. She walked between them, which clearly startled Faybelle and calmed Briar. “I get it. I do. But something’s really not adding up? And I guess it’s because I’m the only not-super-old person here--”

 

Blondie paused, and looked to Cupid. “Briar is super-old, right?”

 

“A little over a thousand,” Cupid confirmed.

 

“Right, got it. So, being the only super-not-old person in this conversation right now, I can say that you were _both_ played, Young and the Restless style.” Blondie looked between the both of them. Briar looked vaguely insulted at being called old and Faybelle had gotten a tell tale furrowed brow of confusion the moment she’d said Young and the Restless. “If I can? Offer my opinion as an unbiased third party?”

 

Faybelle pointed a curled claw. “You’re her friend! Biased from the start!”

 

“If I could pronounce your namey-thing I’d use it to get you to shut up,” Blondie snapped. “But that’d be really rude so I’m just gonna say _shut up_ and _let me talk!_ ”

 

“The _gall of you--_ ”

 

“ _Flòraidh_ , do shut up,” Cupid said.

 

Faybelle’s lips sealed shut of their own accord. She made a very angry screaming sound in her throat and gestured rudely.

 

“I don’t think,” Blondie continued, “that _either_ of you betrayed the other. Er, on purpose.”

 

“You’re _believing_ her?!” Briar looked so hurt that Blondie’s heart broke. “But--Blondie, we’re _friends_ \--”

 

“You’ve been lying to me too, Briar,” Blondie said quietly. “So really, I’m taking a lot of what you’re saying with a grain of _salt_.”

 

That shut Briar up quite fast. She even looked guilty, casting her gaze to her shoes. “What was I supposed to say?” She mumbled with sorrow. “That a fairy _tricked_ me into living forever?”

 

Faybelle growled.

 

“Okay, new rule, stop insulting each other or we’ll never get anywhere,” Blondie held up a hand. “Briar, shut up. Faybelle--oh, uh,” she looked to Cupid, who quickly rescinded the order. “Can you tell us honestly, and in English, what...what _happened_? Please. I would like to hear your side of the story first.”

 

“And I expect you’ll just trust every word I say,” Faybelle sneered. “Not going to get your godling to force the truth out of me?”

 

“Don’t talk about Cupid like that,” Blondie clipped. “And _yes_ , I’m actually going to go out on a limb and trust you on this. Don’t ask me why, because you know what? I don’t know either!” She looked back at Briar, then to Cupid (who gave her a thumbs up, of all things) and back to Faybelle. “But I am a reporter, and I am not going to favor one lead or the other. I want the full scoop.”

 

Faybelle was very quiet. Then, she said, “Truly, you’re an annoying little thing. But to sway your bias to _me_ , fine then. I will tell you my truth.”

 

Blondie rolled her eyes.

 

“Long ago, before A-- _Briar_ , I made a friend out of a young queen in what you’d come to know as Russia. Or, she called herself a queen,” Faybelle waved her hand with a snort, “but perhaps she was a liar. She was beautiful nonetheless, and so I took her into the Court as my pet.”

 

Blondie was already beginning to regret asking for the story.

 

“She was kind, but always talked about starting a _family_ , wanting a husband and children and…” Faybelle drifted off. “I was jealous. Jealous, but I let her go. It had been so long within the Court for her, though, and she’d eaten freely of our Realm, and so she left--not as a human, but as a beautiful swan. Cursed to spend her days within the Realm as a bird, but free to leave at night into the human world as, well, a human. She hated me. I suppose she eventually found love and started some kind of life, not that I cared any longer. I was quite depressed; my friend was bright and a delight to be around. She gave me great joy.”

 

“But you....kidnapped her first,” Blondie said.

 

“I know.” Faybelle’s voice was quiet. “And so her hatred of me was fair. I was too young to control myself. I should have taken her and told her the rules. Let her choose to stay with me, if that was what she wanted.” Her eyes slid to Briar. “I did not make the same mistake twice.”

 

Briar bristled, but a warning glance from Blondie somehow kept her silent.

 

“So,” Blondie began, “you were really sad. Okay. What then?”

 

“Decades passed and my mother heard the tearful plea from a resplend--a _fair_ bride to be taken away from her wedding.” Faybelle stared at Briar. “That she wanted away from a marriage she did not choose. My mother took her away as a present for me.” Her voice was raw as she said, “And we were friends. For a time.”

 

“And?”

 

“I suppose she had a crush on me,” Faybelle sniffed.

 

Blondie sighed. “Faybelle, please?”

 

“I _suppose_ she had a _crush_ on me,” Faybelle repeated, then softly added, “or so I _wanted_. I cared for her too greatly. It is a weakness of mine--my only one. But she often spoke of how being left without choice was her worst fear, and I had learned from the swans, so I did not pursue her. Or so I thought. Perhaps I had wooed her with my charms after all, for my mother approached me and told me that she had taken of my blood and I was so, _foolishly_ happy.”

 

Silence. Briar’s scowl deepened.

 

“But then,” Faybelle said in a slow, dangerous hiss, “she _fled_. Fled away with _my_ immortality, and then had the gall to blame and resent me for a gift I did not _impart on her_."

 

“And Faybelle’s mother had the--” Blondie blanched, “--blood, stuff, ready for Briar already. And didn’t tell her about it until after, right?”

 

“Yes,” Briar said between clenched teeth. “My choice was stolen from me yet again. I ran from one arranged marriage right to another. I dared to let you in, Faybelle. _Flòraidh._ I _dared._ And you betrayed me, too.”

 

Blondie waited for a moment for them to pounce upon the obvious thread both stories contained, and when they didn’t, she groaned. For immortals, they were _idiots_.

 

“So, shot in the dark.” Blondie clapped her hands. “But _maybe_ Faybelle’s mother--who probably doesn’t know anything about how the human mind and heart work--thought that the best way to make her daughter happy was to ensure that the human she lo-- _cared for_ was hers forever. I mean,” Blondie spread her hands out, “the Fae don’t exactly seem to really care what humans want.”

 

“That is an absolute _crock of_ \--” Faybelle paused mid sentence. “--that is...something mother would absolutely do. And she would justify it with that--that Briar drinking without questioning would have been consent and not just blind trust.”

 

“ _What_?” Briar gaped.

 

“Seems legit,” Cupid chimed. “Doesn’t it seem a little silly now? All that moping and screaming and it was really the mother-in-law behind it all.”

 

“You could have asked her to do it,” Briar said, voice trembling. “This could all be a set up.”

 

“A set up a _thousand years_ in the making, Briar?” Faybelle said with disgust. “I’m not _that_ dedicated to making any human’s life miserable. Do you truly need to use my name to ensure that I’m being honest? Then command me, Briar.” Her eyes flickered with rage. “Use me, like you’ve been doing this whole time.”

 

“ _Flòraidh_ , speak nothing but the truth,” Briar said almost desperately. “Did you ask your mother to give me the wine?”

 

“No. I would have never done such a thing to you. Not when you begged the _Unseelie_ to take you away from marriage in the first place.”

 

Briar swayed on her feet. Blondie moved to prop her up and she sagged against her side. “God,” she breathed. “We were friends?”

 

“I considered us so.” Faybelle’s voice was tight.

 

“Did you love me?”

 

Faybelle looked away, and refused to answer. Blondie felt her heart ache.

 

“I did,” she said at last. “No longer. A thousand years and then _this_ blatant disrespect have killed whatever lingering love I had in my heart for Aurora O’Briar. Release me, now.”

 

Briar did. “But I’m not taking back the orders to keep from hurting me or my friends,” she said roughly. “I...can’t--”

 

“Can’t trust me. A wise move. As it stands, I would love nothing more than to obliterate you off the face of this disgusting earth for what you’ve done to me.” Faybelle let her guise mist back into place, smirking. “But I will have to settle for destroying your _reputation_ instead. Your half-a-glamour won’t save you.”

 

Briar nodded, and a bark of a laugh left her throat. “I deserve that,” she admitted. “ _Flòraidh_ , for what it’s worth, I...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for using your name like that.”

 

“You are not forgiven,” Faybelle said. “As for you, little reporter; Blondie, was it? Come here.”

 

“What, me--” Blondie steadied Briar on her feet, and slowly moved forward. Cupid shrugged at the questioning look Blondie shot her, but with the whole _don’t hurt my friends_ thing still in effect, it was safe enough. She guessed. “What, uh, what are you--”

 

Faybelle took her hand and pulled her in close. The touch of her hands over the bare skin of her neck made every cell feel like a supernova; from a distance, the Faerie glamour was tolerable, if arresting. Up close, and being _touched_ by it, was another matter. Blondie was practically swooning, and that was before Faybelle’s cool lips came to touch the corner of her mouth.

 

 _Oh my god,_ Blondie thought. Then, louder, _OH MY GOD._

 

“You have my thanks,” Faybelle said in a silky voice, “for revealing the truth to me. The Fae will see my mark upon you and treat you with _great_ favor. Even a Courtless princess is still a princess.”

 

Faybelle vanished with a cruel laugh. Blondie felt her mortal body cry out with the absence, but her mind--addled as it was--was throwing an absolute fit. Just as soon as she got the feeling back in her everything, she’d throw a fit. She wasn’t an idiot; it was a blatant dig at Briar. A big _hey look at me I’m sooooo unaffected and soooo over you_.

 

God, Blondie hated teenagers.

 

“That, uh,” she said, half afraid to turn around and face Cupid and Briar. “That uh, happened.”

 

“It sure did.” Briar’s voice was resigned. “Well. I’m gonna go take a nap.”

 

Blondie turned around to stare at her friend. “Wha-what about school?”

 

Briar looked her dead in the eyes. “ _Fuck_ school,” she said, and then Briar was walking away to her home. Blondie stared after her, then slowly looked to Cupid.

 

“If I had known school was going to be this interesting I would gone millennia ago.” Cupid laughed, clearly not annoyed at the kiss, “Though if she tries to kiss you again, I’ll rip out her tongue.”

 

Oh okay, nevermind.

 

“I,” Blondie tried to speak. “What _exactly_ did kissing me do?”

 

“Exactly what she said. She marked you to other Fae as someone found worthy. It will keep you from their pranks, at the least.” Cupid’s eyes lingered on her mouth, and Blondie told herself it was simply just looking at the ‘mark’. “Spiritually inclined beings will see it too.”

 

“I’m not, like--I’m not being dragged into some weird love triangle thing, am I?” Blondie’s voice hitched with panic. “I _cannot_ handle a love triangle between my super old friend and her super old fairy ex.”

 

“You’re fine, Blondie, I promise.” Cupid’s eyes drifted down, and flared. “Your legs--they’re covered in scratches…”

 

“Getting dragged through a park will do that to people,” Blondie snarked without heat, wincing. She’d been able to ignore the slight pinching, but people would talk if she walked around with everything from the knee down scraped. “I’ll stop by the nurse before cl--”

 

Cupid kneeled down in front of her.

 

“--Uh.” Blondie’s plan died in her throat. “What...what are you doing?”

 

“A Fae’s kiss isn’t the only one with magical properties,” Cupid murmured. “May I?”

 

Blondie found herself nodding and jumped when Cupid’s warm fingers grazed the sensitive skin at the back of her knee. She swayed, and steadied herself with one hand braced against Cupid’s shoulder. She barely had the brainpower left to question--out loud--what Cupid was doing before the first kiss was placed against an irritated patch of skin. Blondie inhaled sharply; Cupid kept trailing kisses down her shin until each scratch and bruise had been covered.

 

Then she did the other leg. Blondie felt the injured skin tingle and warm, the pain fading away in seconds, the skin unblemished. Cupid rose quickly, her smile small and tender.

 

“Feel better?” Cupid asked gently.

 

“Y...y...yep,” Blondie stammered.

 

“I’m really glad. Oh,” Cupid suddenly gasped, “I missed a spot.”

 

Her hand cupped the side of Blondie’s neck and she ducked her head; her lips landed against Blondie’s racing pulse and the _jolt_ that raced into her was like lightning. It was distinctly inhuman in the way it brought all of her hairs to stand on end, obliterating actual thought. It wasn’t fair, Blondie thought, for all of these otherworldly women to just kiss on her. She was only human. Was this healthy?

 

Cupid drew away with a low laugh, breathy in a telling way. The look in her eyes was unreadable, or perhaps Blondie didn’t want to read into it.

 

“And for future reference, faeries aren’t the only ones who can make their mark,” Cupid said simply.

 

Blondie croaked. “Jesus.”

 

“Cupid, actually, but I can see why you’d get us confused.” Cupid gave her a pat on the cheek and an even cheekier smile. “Now, we should probably hurry back. We can’t be late for school.”

 

As Cupid lead her back, Blondie realized she should have pulled a Briar, because _fuck_ school. It was on the way that Blondie remembered Holly was going to have her go over the book she had been writing.

 

“I’m sorry Blondie!” Holly apologized when she was asked about it later, “I already gave it to Raven! You know her mom’s a famous author!”

 

Who didn’t? Evana Queen and her vast collection of magical adventures were near legendary in Afterever Hills. Every new release was a best seller. Blondie wasn’t even bothered by the thought of Holly sending the rough draft to someone else; Holly’s dream was to be published one day, after all.

 

“That’s alright,” Blondie said with a weak smile. “I’m sure she’s really going to love your Snow White reimagining.”

  
“Gosh, I sure hope so,” Holly said shyly. “I just...really can’t wait for the whole world to meet Apple White!”

**Author's Note:**

> slap down a review if you enjoyed it, or if you just generally want to ask questions! feedback is what the ego needs to survive. feed us we are hungry


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